Sky reporting that Pogrebnyak is set to agree a four year deal with Reading: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11661/7825384/Royals-close-on-Pogrebnyak Good luck to him . . . I'm actually quite pleased that we haven't tried to match whatever Reading have offered him. He did well enough last season to be worth a new deal at Fulham but not a four year one. With AJ and now Pog gone, I wonder where this leaves Dempsey. There's going to need to be some serious transfer activity before I can see us letting him go, however close he is to the end of his contract.
I'm surprised we didn't sign Pog, but if the wage levels quoted elsewhere are correct letting him go is probably the right call. Perhaps the departures of Pog and AJ to follow Zamora means that Jol is going to give Trotta his chance. Even if that is the case, I'd be very surprised not to see at least one new striker coming into the club. Any more news on Jordan Rhodes?
Not to my knowledge. All that's been reported in the last week is that he's in the frame for the GB Olympic squad.
Good luck to him. And Reading actually as he does have a bit of a history of being injury prone. And despite his lightning start with us he doesn't actually score that many goals when you look at it in the cold light of day. And given we may lose Dempsey then our main striker needs to do exactly that and I'm not sure he is that player.
No change from the earlier post under 'Paper Talk and Transfers' thread - he's in talks this week. The other 2 candidates posted there (Yilmaz and Aubameyanga) are very much in the frame as well. So far as Pog is concerned, can only endorse the other comments. Also we all knew that the Reading Russian owner connection would play a part and Pog's agent(s) has (have) a wee bit of a reputation (could be wrong but he was on something around £5ok at Stuggart).
Don't think so fulhamish. The Pog's agent is Oleg Artimov. Not sure about this but I think Jol's is Mino Raiola. According to the Pog's lot it's not yet a done deal - http://en.rian.ru/sports/20120619/174127213.html Interesting that his Stuggart contract is not up till next month (and they don't seem keen to renew !).
Not bothered at all about Pog. I wasn't optimistic when he joined and my sentiments haven't changed. Reading are welcome to him, especially at 65k per week!
Jorden Rhodes would be my choice,with a quality full back/midfielder. I feel the 3 youngsters who could shine next season are Burn, Donnigan, & Williams, I already count Trotta as one of our 1st team squad.
Tee hee. I know it's still not absolute but this article suggests the more pragmatic transfer details, as opposed to the £65k pw hype, and the clincher was the 4 year deal. We apparently were not prepared to go beyond 2 years which given the Pog's age and the fact that he is quite injury prone (something not much has been made of) I believe was a perfectly reasonable stance by the Club. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2161953/Reading-agree-6m-deal-Pavel-Pogrebnyak.html
If you had read my highly informative artical a few weeks back about the 'New Reading owners' you would have known that the £65K a week was pure fantasy. AS if Reading can afford to pay that? Im not even sure that the deal will go ahead, but if it does it won't be as much as people think.
I must have missed your article Ellers… sounds fascinating. I didn’t have you don’t as a “real Hoops” fan I think the general consensus is no one is too broken hearted about the Pog moving on… Or AJ choosing to wind down on his career.
Despite the fact both Pog and AJ have gone and the future of Dempsey is still uncertain, I still do not find myself in a state of panic. The prospect of having an entirely new strike-force for next season is intriguing to say the least. Could Jol be considering starting Ruiz up front next season?
I’m quite pleased AJ has moved on. If you’d have asked me Feb if we should keep the Pog I would definitely have said yes after his flying start however now I’m not so sure. I do have faith in Big Maart and for him to let these players go he must have replacements in mind or intent to bring through some youngsters through. I know they were out of contract but both AJ and the Pog have left for financial reasons, so if we had paid up they would have stayed so it was our choice too. As Bandit has said I think Ruiz up front could be an option. He played up front for Twente and was a star. I remember the reception he got away last season in the Europa. Towards the end of last season he showed a lot of promise he just lacks the physical side as he gets knocked off the ball too easily. I think it could a positive thing some of these players moving (and I include Zamora in that bracket too), I wouldn’t be so happy if we were losing the likes of Trotta, Frei, Kasami, but to lose players at the other end of their career isn’t the end of the world. I can see a lot of changes over the summer but am quite excited about rather than concerned. On another positive note the news stories you used to see every day linking Dempsey and Dempele to a new club seemed to have fizzed away. At least I hope they have and are just not getting masked by the Euro coverage.
I'm sorry to see The Pog go, but maybe he served his purpose. At the money he wanted, good luck to Reading. He landed last night from Moscow, so today he'll have found out where Reading is. COYW
I thought he played on the wing? In any case, I agree. The prospect of a new strike force is exciting, especially as it surely means Trotta will get his chance. Like TMHAF says, the player who've left already were at the wrong end of their careers so it's nothing to lose sleep over.
Pog was good and served his purpose. I would have liked to keep him but others said he went a bit flat later in the season... I think Jol will bring someone to suit our style of football which is more passing and playing facing the opponent.
